Every decision you make will affect your daughter and shape her empire.
Volcano Princess is a combination RPG and raising simulator. It was released on Steam in 2023 and is currently available in Chinese, English, and Japanese. The game was developed by Egg Hatcher, a two-girl studio based in Beijing, China.
Compare to the Princess Maker series.
This work uses the following Tropes:
- Bizarre Seasons: In the Volcano Princess world, rather than the seasons lasting the usual 3 months, they instead last for an entire year, meaning 1 season cycle is the equivalent to four years. The game starts out in the Spring Year and ends in the Winter Year.
- Bow and Sword in Accord: When Rose (the default name for the daughter) grows up to a teenager and becomes a knight, she learns how to use a sword and a bow to fight the monsters lurking in the forest. Her adventuring companions favor either a sword or a bow, but only she can wield both.
- Do Well, But Not Perfect: Akin to Princess Maker before it, there are multiple endings that are gained by having a certain amount of stat points, but not too much that another ending is unlocked above it in priority. To get these, the player has to carefully manage their stats to not go beyond a certain threshold, or clear out the Alleyway and get access to Carlos' stat reducing potions during Winter.
- Foreshadowing: There are plenty throughout the story but notable ones include Lebsa being Rose's twin from having the same birthday and in the main story cutscenes, the Owl Princess' appearance looking very similar to Rose's mother and her reluctance to attack Rose in the true end.
- Great Offscreen War: The very first newspaper that can be read in the game has an article about the return of the legendary hero Asbell, who won a war between humans and demons many years ago.
- Long-Lost Relative: Played straight and subverted. The true ending reveals Lebsa as Rose's long-lost twin, however the body does not belong to her, but rather the real twin. The Owl Princess is also revealed to be the Volcano Princess and the mother of Rose and her twin.
- Marry Them All: Alongside the endings where Rose ends up with two people, there's one romance ending where she marries five people. The people in question are: Benson, Hackett, Ze, Lon, and Craig.
- Multiple Endings: The game has different endings depending on who Rose is romantically involved with, as well as what career she is best suited for.
- New Game Plus: After beating the game once, you'll be given a certain amount of currency called fire stones that can be used to choose what stats, relationships, and even weapons and furniture will be leveled/given when starting a new game. The in-universe explanation for this is Luca using her Volcano Goddess powers to strengthen Rose, awaken her friends' Past-Life Memories, and give Rose enchanted items in hopes that she'll have a head start in becoming strong enough to defeat the Final Boss.
- Personality Blood Types: The game begins by choosing a name for the daughter (with the default being Rose), as well as selecting her blood type, which will affect her natural talents; the options are A, B, AB, O, Rh-, and Rh+.
- Polyamory: As of the Version 2.00.00 update, there are five "Romance" endings in which Rose can end up with two people at once instead of marrying just one: Nina & Mona, Gwyneth & Kenneth, Ze & Hackett, Lon & Craig, and Gwyneth & Mona.
- Relationship Values: The game tracks Rose's relationships with other major characters, which can determine what romantic pairings she is eligible for. It also keeps track of her relationship with her father, noting whether she thinks of him as kind, cute, brave, or wise in addition to how much she respects him.
- Struggling Single Father: The player's role in the game is that of a father whose wife passes away during the five-year Time Skip between the introduction and start of gameplay, leaving him to raise their young daughter all by himself.
- Surprise Incest: Rose pursuing either ending of Lebsa's romance. As Rose gets her memory wiped in Lebsa's version of the true end, Rose never learns the fact that they are physically twins, something only known when playing the normal true end.
